Lockheed Martin and Hewlett-Packard are the co-hosts of MILCOM 2004, an annual international military communications conference that brings together leaders from government, industry and academia to discuss and showcase the latest advancements in military communications and networking.

The conference is scheduled for Oct. 31 - Nov. 3 at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, Calif., and is sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Communications Society. Different companies host the event each year, which rotates between the East and West coasts.

"For over 20 years, MILCOM has been the premier international conference for military communications," said Leonard F. Kwiatkowski, vice president, Lockheed Martin Space Systems and general chairman of the conference. "Lockheed Martin and Hewlett-Packard are proud to serve as the hosts for MILCOM 2004 and we look forward to a successful symposium that will help determine the future of military communications."

The conference theme, "Harness the Power for Force Transformation," will focus on initiatives to develop military communications with network-centric capabilities to allow U.S. and allied forces to adapt quickly to new challenges and unexpected circumstances on the battlefield.

Bill Mutell, Hewlett-Packard's vice president for worldwide defense, intelligence and security, added: "MILCOM has been a continued success because it not only showcases the latest in military communications but also because it enables public-private sector interchange on key government needs such as efficiency and effectiveness. It also helps agencies address interoperability questions across the entire military, civilian and intelligence agency community. HP and Lockheed Martin are looking forward to another successful conference in 2004 and helping to transform the future of military communications into operational reality."

Over 1,500 representatives from industry, academia and government are expected to attend the three-day event, which will include keynote speeches from the nation's top military and government officials, panel presentations, tutorial sessions and over 100 exhibitors.

The plenary speakers at the conference include General Lance W. Lord, Commander of the Air Force Space Command; U.S. Navy Admiral E.P. Giambastiani, Jr., NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and Commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command; Undersecretary of the Air Force Peter B. Teets; and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration, John P. Stenbit.

Panel discussions and tutorials will address initiatives like the government's Transformational Satellite program (T-SAT) which will provide high-speed, internet-like connectivity in a secure mode to deployed and mobile users as well as the Airborne Joint Tactical Radio System that will replace the military's current hard-wired, single-use radios with multi-purpose, secure digitized radio systems.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2004, HP revenue totaled $78.4 billion. More information about HP is available at www.hp.com.

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2003 sales of $31.8 billion. More information is available at www.lockheedmartin.com.

Media Contact: Steve Tatum, 408-742-7531; e-mail, Stephen.o.tatum@lmco.com

Media interested in attending the conference should contact Tobey Jackson at 703-631-6189 or tjackson@afcea.org

For more information about MILCOM 2004, please visit www.milcom.org.

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin